Vehicles, particularly automobiles, are composed of thousands of parts and components, some replaceable, stationary, movable and/or critical to the operation of the vehicle. Keeping track of the existence and/or status of thousands of parts is not only a complex task, but virtually impossible with currently available systems. For example, a typical automobile comprises approximately 14,000 primary components that can be further divided into additional parts that form the structural and mechanical subsystems of the automobile. Because of the vast number of parts and systems involved, and the importance of maintaining and servicing vehicles, particularly fleets of vehicles used by businesses, the inventorying and managing of such parts has become more and more important.
Taking inventory of any type of article is a time-consuming and difficult task that must be done in all industries. To simplify the inventory process, many systems have been developed that use bar codes and graphic readers to track certain systems and parts. However, these systems, while an improvement over previous systems, suffer from significant limitations as well, including a line-of-sight requirement for accurate readings and one way data transfer capabilities that are limited to the transmission of small amounts of data. These existing systems also typically require that all associated data be maintained and updated in a database system that is not attached to the vehicle. While vehicles continue to utilize more sophisticated computer control systems that include the ability to store certain amounts of data, such systems are generally limited to monitoring the electrical harness, the engine and fluids.
In contrast to prior art systems, since the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be utilized with virtually any part of the vehicle and uses storage located inside the vehicle that can be updated automatically through remote transmission, the data associated with any critical part of the vehicle is always up-to-date, accurate, and immediately available. For fleet applications, the present invention may also synchronize data stored in the on-board systems with an external database, but generally the vehicle itself stores all of its own status data and may be queried whenever the vehicle is present.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes radio frequency identification (“RFID”) technology. A basic prior art RFID system consists of three components: (1) an antenna or coil; (2) a transceiver (with decoder); and (3) a transponder (RFID tag) electronically programmed with unique information. The antenna emits radio signals to activate the RFID tag and can read and write data to the RFID tag. Antennas are the conduits between the tag and the transceiver that control the system's data acquisition and communication.
Some inventorying systems, such as those utilized in libraries, have sought to take advantage of RFID technology by attaching RFID tags to each article to be inventoried and tracked. As such, the RFID tag stores important data concerning a particular article, such as a book, and the RFID reader or transceiver decodes the RFID tag by scanning it at a particular frequency so as to receive the stored data associated with the RFID tag. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,134 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,006 (a continuation of the '134 patent), an inventory system is disclosed that uses articles with RFID tags which have unique identifiers or serial numbers for identification of books in a library setting. Specifically, the '134 patent envisions a library inventory control system using RFID technology whereby books are tracked from checkout to check-in. However, neither patent discloses how this system could be used in a more complex or complicated environment, such as an automobile, to track and potentially control the use of thousands of replaceable and movable parts.
In the context of vehicle applications, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,112,152 and 5,995,898 disclose a system comprising an on-board computer and a wireless transponder device coupled to the on-board computer that can receive information from a variety of internal RFID transponders located throughout an automobile, or from remote transponders positioned at various external points such as gas stations, service centers, and dealerships. However, this system only functions to monitor the state of certain systems within the automobile, much like the typical on-board computer system noted above, it does not verify the specific parts of the automobile or allow for tracking or inventorying of particular parts in the automobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,962, a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,319, discloses a method for resolving signal collisions between multiple RFID transponders in a field. In particular, the invention describes a system whereby multiple RFID transponders and interrogators are able to operate in the same field without a resulting collision of signals. The system does not suggest how such RFID technology can be used to manage and verify parts in particular vehicles.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,493 discloses a system and method for finding a specific RFID tagged article located in plurality of RFID tagged articles. This system addresses issues related to finding misplaced items in large inventories. It does not offer a solution for tracking thousands of parts in a vehicle in order to promote the correct and safe operation of that vehicle.
The present invention can be further distinguished from the prior art in three important ways. First, the present invention increases the safety of the vehicles utilizing the system. Safety is an ongoing concern in all aspects of life, and the automobile is no exception, especially with respect to the replacement of damaged or warn parts. Though many manufacturers use warning labels instructing users to replace damaged or warn parts only with the appropriate equivalent parts, there is no means of verifying such compliance. The preferred embodiment of the present invention enables compliance verification.
Second, the preferred embodiment of the present invention enables the authenticity of parts in a particular vehicle to be checked. Vehicle service centers could utilize an authenticity check to identify potential incompatibility issues caused by the use of non-authentic parts. Potential purchasers of used vehicles could verify the authenticity of the parts on such vehicle to make sure all of the parts have been approved by the manufacturer of the vehicle.
Third, the preferred embodiment of the present invention significantly enhances vehicle owner convenience. For example, modern automobiles have many parts that require periodic replacement. Often, automobile manufacturers create re-settable time periods to warn operators, though a dashboard warning light, to change the oil or perform “periodic maintenance,” but few, if any, provide a mechanism for warning users that it is time for them to replace parts that have a limited lifespan, such as oil and air filters, belts, hoses, etc. One past obstacle to providing such warnings has been the difficultly associated with determining when the user has changed a part, thereby initiating the reset of any counter related to that part. The present invention, through constant verification, provides such a capability, enabling more accurate information to be provided to the user. These features are not contemplated or anticipated by the prior art.